Mother's Day

Wishing a very Happy Mother's Day to all mother's out there today!

Breakfast in bed?  Not today.  I had to work this morning and besides there's no-one here except me at the moment.  All my children did send messages while I was at work so I guess that's OK, especially since two of them live four hours away in the city.

My day out last week to Ladies Day at the races was my gift from my children.  Then this afternoon my daughter arrived and presented me with these lovely chrysanthemums saying I should receive something on Mother's Day seeing as how I'd already been given my present.  Jacqui also cooked me dinner. We had the most wonderful three course Thai banquet.

Getting presents is great and I absolutely love what I was given but y'know, spending time with family is by far the best present ever, don't you think?

I hope you all had a wonderful day with your families.

The challenge continues...

I really must finish sewing for this Grandbaby as I sooo need to get some things made for myself.  I've been trying to work on a few things but feel I'm getting nowhere fast.  So there's nothing spectacular here.  I fear you've seen it all before.  I have so many projects lined up it's going to take all Winter and beyond to get through them but I need them NOW!  Ohhh... how will find the time?

Day 9

I spent the day running errands and sewing for the baby who is now overdue.  I really must get it finished or the baby will arrive before I'm done.

Details:
Top; Simplicity 4076 details here
Skirt; Target
Belt; Target
Sandals; Target

Day 10

Details:
Top; Kwik Sew 3617 details and my review of this pattern here
Jeans; Sussan had for years and they are really looking faded and need to be replaced
Belt; Tempt

Day 11

Today's photo mini challenge was ugly places.  I certainly think this fits.  I found this in the car parking area behind where my DD works.  

But then this was directly opposite and I couldn't decide which was uglier.  You have to wonder about that sign though.  Could parking here mean that your car may be covered in graffiti when you return.  Mmm...I wonder - I don't think I'll take the risk.  Hehehe.

Details:
Top; Susanne Grae
T-shirt; Susanne Grae
Skirt; Butterick 3438 made last winter
Scarf; Sportsgirl
Tights; Bonds
Boots; missM from Faulls Shoes
Bag; Katies

Day 12

Kushka decided he wanted to be in the photo today.

Details:
Top; Kwik Sew 3338 details here
Cardigan; Target
Jeans; Susanne Grae
Shoes; Rivers

At this stage of the me-made month I'm feeling that I don't have anything to wear.  Most of my things are too dressy for my current lifestyle and probably wont be worn during this challenge.  I'll have to re-think my wardrobe needs and start sewing more suitable garments.

Is anyone else feeling that their clothing doesn't fit their lifestyle?

Baby bunting

 I've finished it...

... and it's so cute!  And so small.  Having waited until the last minute hoping to find the perfect colour I couldn't wait any longer and chose white.  Now that's a very sensible colour for a newborn, but hey, I'm not that sensible and wanted something in a really bright, gender neutral colour. Think red or emerald green etc.  You'd think that Spotlight would know when the baby is due to arrive and get some fabrics in in time to make things.  But no, they weren't that considerate, they bring out the bright colours the day before due date.  Now how is anyone supposed to get anything made that fast.  Anyway I'm glad I chose the white, I really love the way it turned out.

The Pattern is McCalls 5963, view A.  The fabric I used is Minkee Dot and feels so lovely and soft.  And can I just say this, DON'T  wear black when sewing this fabric.  It sheds when it's cut!  Everywhere!  Thankfully all seams are totally enclosed in the lining. I've never sewn Minkee before and it's a little slippery.  To overcome this, I pinned - lots. The sleeve has a built in fold over mitten - a necessary thing IMO.  The lining is a white interlock with brown sheep which is kinda cute too.  The only thing missing is a label.  Mmmm... Wish I knew where I could get some.  Can anyone help me out with that?



I also wanted to make a small blanket.  I got out the fabric, chose the embroidery design and thread colours, set up the machine and yep you guessed it... the embroidery unit on the machine isn't WORKING!!!  How frustrating is that when I had it serviced last year for the same problem and haven't used it since.  Soooo, I guess I'm more than a little disappointed but I can't get it serviced in time.

In the meantime onto some bibs...

Thinking about it...

I've realized in the past week how our clothing needs change with different lifestyles.  While trying to select handmade outfits to wear for May I find that my clothes are no longer appropriate for my new lifestyle.  Instead of working in an environment where I wore relaxed business wear I now wear a uniform to work which leaves me with very few causal clothes.  A situation which needs to be given some thought over the next few weeks.  Mmmm... what do I need?

Here's a recap of my last few days wearing handmade things.

Day 5

I missed the fun on Flickr taking a photo incorporating food/eating/cooking yesterday so thought I would catch up today.  This is yet another top from Kwik Sew 3617 but I think it's time to move on as everything is starting to look the same.

Details:
Top; Top; Kwik Sew 3617 details and my review of this pattern here
Cardigan; Target
Skirt; Cannabrava bought from Unik
Tights; Bonds
Boots; Target

Day 7

I was making this top for my DIL's 30th birthday back in September but unfortunately I ran into a fit issue and it wasn't finished in time.  I have worn it several times since but haven't blogged about it.  The fabric is some I've had for years and every time I saw it in my stash I thought to myself  "I can't imagine why I bought this" but it seemed so perfect for this top.  I have no idea what the fabric is but I can say that it doesn't need ironing.  It's quite a thick woven fabric and has the feel of microfibre or something similar and it was a dream to sew.  You can't really tell the colour from this photo but it's black white and coffee.  There's also a black ribbon belt that goes with it but somehow didn't seem appropriate for casual wear.

Details:
Top; New Look 6808 - not blogged
Jeans; Target, had for several years

Day 8

OMG!! Obviously having a bad hair day, something I didn't realize until I uploaded this photo but meh... we all have them, don't we?  I wish I had known how bad it looked before I went to an appointment this morning 'cos I would've tied it up to save embarrassing myself. 

Details:
Top; Kwik Sew 3338
Cami; Target
Jeans; Sussan, had for several years
Thongs; Havaianas

Wow, it's that time again.  Me-Made-May '12 is upon us already.  How fast did that come around?  Being a nosey parker I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is wearing over on the Flickr Group.  Not so sure I'm looking forward to taking photo's every day again though.  You know, I think it'll be a huge challenge for me this time as I don't want to bore you with the same things I wore in the last challenge but in reality I have not done a lot of sewing so fear you will see many things over again.  Having said that, I believe the purpose of  these challenges is to get us wearing the things we make instead of having them languish in the back of our wardrobes which means that I will be wearing previously seen garments.  So as not to bore you I think I will only post daily outfits when it's something new otherwise I will group a few days together.


Day 1

Ladies Day at the Races

 

Today was Ladies Day, the first day of the May Racing Carnival  and Jacqui (my daughter, in case you can't tell) and I are going to the Ladies Luncheon.  A day at the races requires a somewhat dressy outfit and I decided to try some colour blocking which I think worked quite well. My dress is made from  McCalls 7440, view C.  I've had this pattern since about 1998. (I found measurements for both of my DD's dated 1998 inside the envelope.)  I've made this dress before but this is the first time for myself. The pattern is designed for woven fabric but I chose to ignore this and used Ponte Roma, a knit fabric, as the weather is starting to turn cold and a thicker fabric was needed for warmth.  I don't think using a knit instead of a woven made any difference as I didn't want a skin tight fit anyway.  I didn't even reduce the amount of ease.  I made a few alterations raising the neckline and adding in the waist detail.  I also added a black detail with some frog closures on the front shoulder but my hair is covering it so it's not visible.  I can see now from the photo that I should have taken more time to check the fit as it looks a little large in the front shoulder area.  Mmmm... I guess it pays not to leave it to the last minute but I just couldn't decide on the colour for the middle panel.

A fascinator is also a major part of any outfit for the races.  Talk about leaving things to the last minute.  Again the dress colour choice delayed construction.  It's my own design and I put the finishing touches on it about an hour before leaving. Phew...made it just in time!

 

Two views of my fascinator worn to the May Races.  A very big three day racing carnival here.

Details:
Dress; McCalls 7440, view C modified to raise the neckline adding waist and shoulder details
Fascinator; My own design
Bag; A gift from Italy
Shoes; Bonbons from Faulls Shoes

Day 2

I've finally been forced to work out how the remote works on the camera.  I think I didn't do a bad job but I really need to find the tripod instead of using the furniture in spaces that aren't really suitable.  I had to crop the hell out of the photo to get rid of all the unwanted background. Nothing new here as far as the clothes go.  The red top is a favourite seen before.  Here I'm having a day of rest after the races and enjoying the sunset.

Details:
Top; Simplicity 4076 details here
Jacket; Suzanne Grae several years old
Jeans; Target also several years old

Day 3 - Nothing me made today.  I wore a uniform to work and them slummed around at home in old clothes.

Day 4

Another day just running some errands and doing not much else before heading off to work.  Mmm... I really need to find the tripod

Details:
Top; Kwik Sew 3617 details and my review of this pattern here
Cardigan; Tempt
Jeans; Target also several years old